KneEmail - a devotional by Mike Benson associated with Forthright Magazine
Guilt
EVERYONE DEALS WITH guilt...
All of us have been less than pure; our actions aren't always righteous. Our spirituality sometimes shrivels up like a leaf. We feel our sins will sweep us away. Paul said that all have sinned and have fallen short of the glory of God (Rom. 3:23). Some of us are imprisoned to sin. Because we know better, some of us are miserably wallowing in guilt.
Judas, the one who sold Jesus to His enemies, obviously couldn't live with the guilt of his actions, so, he hanged himself rather than face the guilt. He didn't have to do that. Jesus died for those who nailed Him to the tree just as much as He died for me. If He died for those Roman soldiers, He also died for Judas. Judas didn't see it that way and called it quits because of a heavy, stifling guilt.
Think about new Christians with me for a minute. New Christians are alive and excited about their new life, but like a child learning to walk, they're unsure of which steps to take. Satan tries to enter their lives like he did Judas' life. When they succumb to Satan and give into his way, they feel guilty and unworthy. They look around to those who are spiritually mature, who feel very little guilt because they are guilty of very little, and then they compare themselves to mature Christians and feel even worse. They need to realize that God still loves them and that the blood of Jesus is still shed for them. The forgiveness of their sins only requires the cleansing blood of Jesus, the Lamb of God.
Guilt can be constructive or destructive. Guilt is constructive if it motivates us to correct our behavior and attitudes. Then we've turned our guilt into something productive. Guilt is destructive when we allow it to make us dirty, shameful, and worthless but refuse to do anything about it. Jesus, the Lamb of God, takes away the sin, and the guilt associated with the sin, of the world. (Ted Burleson)
KneEmail: "These are the ones who come out of the great tribulation, and washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb" ( Revelation 7:14).